Misfortune
by margabastian
Summary: It's 1923 and the second war is just beyond the horizon. Descendant of Shao Jun, Khaiesha Wong will learn about her Assassin lineage and pursue her family name. With only her older brother remaining and revenge as her motive, Khaiesha will be trained to become the next Master Assassin of China. Betrayal taints her journey, but many lives will be saved, in the end.
1. Prologue

Prologue

I watched as crimson pooled out of her throat as her body dropped to the pavement. I could feel something tear me open. I could feel the hot tears boil in my eyes as I let out a shriek of emotional pain. The hand of my brother quickly caught the back of my jacket.

"We have to leave her!" He yelled. I didn't want to go. He pulled me one last time then the two of us sprinted like mad; the jade knot clasped tightly in my hand. I took one last look at Mother sprawled on the cold concrete. It looked as if she was sleeping on a comfortable mat of blood. I could see Mother's face from under her thick, black hair. I could tell she used the last of her willpower to flash me a kind smile and mouth, "I love you."

At that point, I knew, I'd never be the same again.


	2. October 31 1923

_[Translated extracts from_

 _The Journal of Khaiesha Wong]_

October 31 1923

i

Much has happened today. I found this empty "diary" at the bottom of my sactual. I understand this is a journal, and formal introductions are not necessary, but I feel as if I need to tell this log who I am. It is a completely new journal, after all. Let me explain some things. First of all, I decided I would keep a journal just in case. I don't know why, but I'd just like to. Perhaps to cope with my newly found anxiety. It's very popular in Easy Asia, apparently. Secondly, I would like to record my personal data (name, age, height, etc.) so I can see how much I have grown over the years.

Anyways, my name is Chung Khaiesha Wong. Chung is my Chinese name and Khaiesha is my Malaysian name. I live in Singapore, but I am half Chinese as well as half Singaporean. My current age is six. I believe my current height is 3'4 and weight is 60 ponds. It will be humorous to me when I look back at my writings to read how small I was. Maybe, one day, when I become stronger, I can reflect on my mistakes in my childhood.

I was raised by my mother. She homeschooled me and my older brother, Feng, just like most children in Singapore. She taught us how to read and write, tell us good from bad, and how to make the most of our lives on earth. I love my mother. No, no, no, I used correct grammar. You see, she _was_ my mother and she _did_ teach me. Now, let me tell you about how my world stopped turning today.

ii

I had a night terror this morning so on instinct, I ran to Mother's room. It was quite early in the morning, in fact, and I was embraced warmly in Mother's strong arms while we hugged in her bed. My body was kept close to hers, like a mother cat and her kitten.

"Shh," Mother whispered, "it's only a dream. Nothing is happening to you."

I sniffed quietly as I examined Mother's jade knot that was tied loosely around her neck. The piece of jade was a classic green and had a weird symbol on it. I should've asked her about it. "But...Feng..." I muttered as my hair fell over my face and I looked up at Mother.

She tilted her head with sincere intensions, "Awe...was he telling you about those stiff corpses again?"

I nodded my head silently.

Mother let out a good hearted laugh; a genuine one. "That brother of yours is just like your father: a real hooligan!" Mother caught her breath. "My dearest Khaiesha, don't you know it's absolutely impossible to resurrect anything dead."

I said nothing, I just looked up at her as she hugged me closer.

"Khaiesha, before you believe anything, you must think more logically. In fact, everything you do, think. You must think before anything." Mother's voice became serious as she lectured me. "Fear is a true nuisance. Fear will get you nowhere in life. Fear will tear you apart until it has taken all your humanity. When you are calm, you can understand things more clearly. When you are strong, mentally, you can achieve the hardest things." She paused. "Do you understand?"

I nodded my head. I did understand what she was telling me. I tried to understand everything Mother told me. Mother was a very intelligent woman. Not to mention independent, seeing that she does not have a spouse by her side. I don't have a father, by the way. I looked up to Mother often. She told me always to listen, for I might use the information later on.

"Now, I'll just to have a little chat with your brother about this as well." With that said, she pressed her lips on my temple with a smile. "I love you."

I smiled back at her, "I love you too, Mother!"

Mother then swung her legs from the bed then yelled at Feng to come see her. I snickered to myself, thinking he'd be in a lot of trouble. Trust me. He was.

iii

My family sat down for breakfast. Feng sat across from me with a red ear. I could tell he was upset with me because I "tattled" on his mistake to mother. Whatever, I continued to eat my meal while I my face glowed with pride. My pride was bothering, it was quite obvious.

"Would you cut that out already?" Feng sneered at me.

"Cut what out? I'm eating my meal," I smiled.

"Both of you better cut it out before I whip you both," Mother said boldly.

Feng and I bowed our heads and apologized to Mother.

"Good, now you two need to get ready. We have a busy day ahead of us." Mother stood up, picked up her plate, and dashed to her room to get ready.

I quickly finished the last morsels of my meal then did the same as Mother. What I wear isn't special or worth writing about. But, just for the heck of it, I slipped on my "rags" and jacket. That's what I wore. My brother and I wore rags. Probably because we were considered a low class family. The economy in Singapore is slightly suffering at the moment. Wealthy families are rare but if you lived alone then there is a higher chance you are rich.

I then proceeded to comb through my thick, black hair with a comb Mother gave me one New Years. I always struggled to comb my hair. Probably because I had so much hair...and my arms weren't strong enough yet. I grunted as attempted to comb my hair back when Mother walked into my room.

"Need some help there?" She chuckled warmly then walked over to me and started to comb my hair for me. I watched her comb my hair with what seemed to be an everlasting smile in the mirror of my bedroom. I couldn't help but smile too. I love Mother. I never knew Father but I love him too, even if we don't know each other.

My mother brightened her smile, "You look just like your brother!"

"Yuck!" I gave my mother a disgusted look in response.

She burst out laughing. "I'm kidding! You actually look like me when I was your age," Mother placed down the brush on my dresser and looked at me with glee as she offered her hand to me. "Come now, we have much to do. Your birthday is coming around the corner too."

I nodded my head then clasped my hand around hers.

iv

When we arrived in the Singapore market, the sky had become thick with clouds and the streets became crowded. The end of the month always meant grocery shopping. Mother washed people's clothes for money, but the pay wasn't very high so we had to save as much as we could. Feng and I worked too. As the saying went in our house, "Work or starve." That saying applied to a lot of things and not just food. If we didn't work, that meant we couldn't receive new shoes or clothing.

Continuing, the market place was filled with people. I guess grocery shopping at the end of the month didn't just apply to our family. We stopped at many places. Stores, such as the silk store, we only looked, but never purchased. We only purchased from small shops that sold what we needed.

Mother held my hand at all times. She said I was so small that I could easily get swept away by the swarm of people. She also told me, on some occasions, a stranger would praise my brother or me for our "adorable faces." We often shooed them away by saying, "don't touch me." Mother always found those situations hilarious. Although, Mother never held Feng's hand. I guess she was trying to raise him to be a strong young man. Probably because Father is gone and he doesn't have a man-figure to look up to.

I thought about what Mother said earlier. That Feng is a lot like Father. That made me ponder the fact that would mean Father is just as obnoxious as Feng. I quickly scolded myself. I shouldn't think such things about Father. Such disrespect towards the dead I will never tolerate. I also scolded myself because it was such a rude thought toward my sibling. Even though Feng often bullied me, I would follow the "Golden Rule." One of the books I owned talked about it. I found it quite interesting. I love to read, by the way. I love to learn in general.

Once we collected half of what we needed, we stopped by a newspaper stand. The cashier had a cigar in his mouth as he was reading his own paper. He was old and smelled of smelly tofu. Mother peered down at a particular newspaper. I didn't understand the headline. It was in English. By Mother's reaction, she understood English, apparently.

"What, again? This Hitler is up to no good..." She gasped

 _Hitler?_

The cashier took a giant drag of his cigar, "Yep, he's been real serious about starting the genocide of Jews."

"That's terrible," Mother responded as she hung her head.

I tugged at Mother's dress. "Mother, what is a 'genocide?'" I could see the grave look in Mother's face as she knelt down to my height and brushed a thumb over my cheek.

"A 'genocide' is a killing of a certain culture or religion by a group of people," She answered solemnly.

"That is terrible," I responded quietly. I hung my head slightly then thought about what Mother told me. _That means he's killing Jewish people..._ I thought. I soon found myself starting to develop a new feeling. It made my stomach turn and burn. I felt upset. I hated it! People were killed because of what they believed in? I thought that was quite ridiculous. I couldn't believe someone so insane would go through such trouble to prove his opinion, which is impossible. That's when I clenched my fist and looked at Mother. "Is there anything I can do about it?"

Mother tilted her head, as if she was thinking. "Perhaps. Hitler might not start the genocide. But if he ever does, maybe when you're older, you can try doing something about it." She smiled at me then kissed my cheek happily. "We'll be leaving now," Mother told the cashier, "thank you very much." She bowed her head and made a gesture; suggesting that Feng and I do the same.

 _I'm going to do something about that genocide,_ I thought to myself as Mother held my hand once again.

v

The day ended and all of us were exhausted. We carried the groceries home and put them away. My arms felt weak, as well as my legs. I decided I would get ready for bed. We had work at the laundry mat tomorrow. I always made sure I got enough sleep, for effected my performance the next day. Feng is lazy and he always slept in, causing us to be late for work. Excuse me, I shouldn't say such vile things about my older brother. He saved my life, after all.

Once I was dressed in my night gown and my long hair was organized, I went to Mother's room so she could tuck me in. I entered her room to find her reading a book in bed. Spectacles rested on her nose. I ran over to her and climbed up on her bed."Mother, will you tuck me in?" I asked softly.

Mother peered up from her book with a smile, "Yes, my love." Suddenly, she surprised me by hugging me from behind and snuggling her face into my back. She started laughing.

"Mother, that tickles!" I smiled through a fit of giggles.

"Goodnight, Moth-" Feng had walked into the room and started to speak until he saw Mother rustling with me. "Mother?" He asked then climbed up onto the bed without a care in the world.

Mother then grabbed Feng in her other arm. "Come here, you rascal!" She teased as she hugged as close to her heart that was filled with love. "I just love you both more than life," She let her white teeth show brightly.

"We love you too, Mother," My brother and I said in unison. We did that often, since we almost have the same mind set. Almost. Mother used to joke about how Feng and I were practically twins because we said things together sometimes. We aren't, though. I was born in 1917 and he was born in 1912. Although, he did look a lot like me. Same eyes, hair, and nose...not our lips. I have Mother's lips. They're quite big, said a stranger once.

Our laughs and tickles stopped when Mother directed her attention to the window. Her eyes seemed to glow with focus. She suddenly became dead serious as she got up to slip on her coat. I slid off the bed in worry. "Stay here, children," she ordered sternly then walked over to me and knelt down. She took off her jade knot around her neck. "Khaiesha, I want you to have this. I always have," she said quietly then slipped the necklace into my hand; closing my fingers around the jade piece then kissing my knuckles in the process. "Take good care of it. It has been in our family for generations."

"Why are you giving it to me now?" I questioned her as I kept the necklace.

"Right now, it doesn't matter, but I need you to stay put, alright?" She looked fondly into my eyes.

I nodded my head once.

"Good," she nodded her head back at me. "I love you," Mother whispered then walked over to Feng and kissed his cheek. She then slipped on her shoes from the back door and exited to the alleyway behind our house. Did she sense something that my brother and I could feel? Was it maternal instinct? Probably, I have concluded.

Feng and I tilted our heads curiously. My brother got off the bed to copy Mother's actions.

I narrowed my eyes. "What are you doing? Mother said to stay put!"

"I know, but I have a bad feeling about this. I want to be there to protect her."

"You're eleven, I don't think you have a muscle on your bone let alone fat."

"It's better than not protecting Mother." With that, Feng dashed out to the back alley.

"Feng, wait!" I called out, but it was too late, for he had ran out. I decided that I would go too. I would have to agree, I had a bad feeling about it too. So, I put my coat on, slipped my shoes on, threw my sactual around my body, just as a precaution for some weird reason, and headed for the door.

It was freezing outside, trust me. I inhaled the smell of approaching rain. _I'd better hurry, or I'll catch a cold,_ I thought as the cold, autumn wind blew into my long, black hair and my legs started running down the alley with Mother's necklace still in my hand. I squinted to protect my eyes. "Feng?" I called out. After some jogging, I eventually found him. He was hiding behind the alleyway corner, watching her talk to men. Two white men. They wore nice clothing, as if they were wealthy. Both men wore medallions with a red crosses. Were they part of an organization? Were they working for the genocide?

"Don't tell us lies, Chung, we know you know about one of the Pieces of Eden," The first man spoke. He had a weird accent, so it was hard to understand their Mandarin clearly.

"I don't know what you're talking about. The last time I checked, Ratonhnhaké:ton was the last Assassin to ever to ever touch a Piece of Eden," Mother responded. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I didn't like the looks of the men.

"Save the excuses, we know you have one of them. Maybe even on you," The second man said.

"What are they talking about?" I asked Feng.

"I don't know...I don't like the looks of these guys." He paused. "Do you think they're part of that genocide thing?" Feng asked a little too loudly, causing our cloak of secrecy to be ripped.

Both men smiled crookedly down at us. "Oh, these are yours, I can tell," the first man chuckled. His jagged hand slipped into his back pocket then slowly took out a gun. He pointed it straight at my head. I tensed up in fear. I knew what guns could do.

"Why you-" Mother sneered under her hair.

"Tell us where the Piece of Eden is and we won't shoot your little girl," the man with the gun growled.

"Never."

"So be it, I guess we can wait."

Frightful silence drenched the atmosphere. I could feel time stop as all of us were in a deadlock. That's how it felt. My life was on the line. Who knew how much time till a bullet would penetrate my skull. My blood would stain the alleyway road. I looked at my brother in my peripherals. Light sweat radiated off of his temple as he stood still with caution. I could tell he was as scared as I was. Everything waited, until I felt my body tense up more and my nose scrunched. I let out a loud exhale. I had sneezed uncontrollably. The man with the gun was distracted by the sneeze and Mother saw this as an opportunity to grab the man's wrist and pin him against the alleyway wall.

"Run, just run!" Mother yelled to us as she struggled to release the gun from the man's hand, but we didn't run, we only watched in shock.

Mother narrowed her eyes at the man then screamed at him like a warrior going into battle. The man narrowed his eyes as well. He only grunted as he tried fighting her off of him. I could tell he was as strong as her because he was struggling. Mother was doing everything in her strength to protect us.

"Tell us where it is!" The man yelled.

"Go to hell!" Mother snapped back in response.

Mother finally got the man to drop the gun. She then punched the man straight in the face, causing him to stumble sideways. Just as Mother was going to stomp his stomach, the second man had pulled out a dagger. He grabbed Mother's shoulder then brought the dagger to her throat. He quickly sliced through her neck with a satanic smile.

I watched as crimson pooled out of her throat as her body dropped to the pavement. I could feel something tear me open. I could feel the hot tears boil in my eyes as I let out a shriek of emotional pain. The hand of my brother quickly caught the back of my winter jacket.

"We have to leave her!" He yelled. I didn't want to go. He pulled me one last time then the two of us sprinted like mad; the jade knot clasped tightly in my hand. I took one last look at my mother sprawled on the cold concrete. It looked as if she was sleeping on a comfortable mat of blood. I could see my mother's face from under her thick, black hair. I could tell she used the last of her willpower to flash me a kind smile and mouth, "I love you."

At that point, I knew, I'd never be the same again.

vi

It had started to rain. We didn't care where we were running. We lost Mother and now we had no one but each other. There were many times when I was running where I wanted to stop so I could sob my eyes out. But Feng dragged me on. I just had to mourn while we were on the run. We had no idea where we headed. I knew that we were somewhere near the harbour. I suddenly tugged on Feng's wrist.

"Feng..."

He ignored me.

"Feng," I repeated.

Still no answer.

" _Feng!"_ I yelled through sobs.

" _What?"_ He yelled at me as our running came to a halt.

"We need to stop and find some shelter; it isn't safe as of now."

"We don't have shelter. We just lost ours."

There was a pause of depressing silence. I could see small tears forming in the corners of Feng's eyes. Or was it rain?

Feng sighed then carefully reselected his words. "Our best place, right now, is under the pier. Come on..." He said with his words fading. Feng started to drag our soaking bodies under the pier. It was wet under the pier. Well, it was wet everywhere so let's just say it was driest we could afford.

The two of us sat down and huddled up. I rested my head on Feng's lap for warmth. I used what I could to stay warm, so I attempted to use my sactual as a blanket. I then tucked Mother's jade knot that I had been holding tightly into the bag in a safe place. Feng and I were quite for a little while. Not saying a word. Within a couple of minutes, Feng was asleep. I guess he was so exhausted from running and mourning.

I couldn't sleep. Not after what happened. It was also quite damp too. I tried closing my eyes, but the beating of rain interrupted me. Then I tried covering my ears. That didn't help either. Out of options, I dug through my sactual to try to find something useful. I just found this empty journal and pen.

Something kind of clicked inside of me. I couldn't sleep, so maybe writing in here would exhaust me. Except, I didn't know what to write about. I tried writing a happy story, but I'm not very creative when it comes to writing a fictional story. I tried writing words over and over, but that got boring. Out of options, once again, I started thinking. I love thinking. Then, thinking traced back to what Mother had told me this morning. I thought. Then I came up with the idea to write about my life in this journal. So far, it has been a misfortunate one, but maybe it would help me with my mourn.

And so, here I finish today's event; wondering what tomorrow will bring.


End file.
